SA Chief Justice’s fight for court workers’ road safety
South Australia’s Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is finally seeing results in his years-long campaign to prevent car and pedestrian accidents near the city’s court houses.
Chief Justice Chris Kourakis – who is the ninth chief justice of the Supreme Court – has been fighting for safer roads outside the state’s court complex in Victoria Square for more than four years to no avail.
But now his bid to have a pedestrian crossing installed at the southern end of the square across Gouger Street – linking the Sir Samuel Way District Court building and the Supreme Court complex opposite it – has made it into plans to upgrade the street.
And it was a hot topic at last night’s Adelaide City Council Infrastructure and Public Works committee meeting with one councillor claiming “accidents happen everywhere” and it did not mean the works should go ahead.
Kourakis first began his fight for safer pedestrian access to the busy courts in mid-2021. He followed it up again in 2023 after a barrister was struck by a car and sustained “significant injuries”.
In his latest letter to Adelaide City Council Lord Mayor Jane Lomax-Smith, Kourakis said the Courts Administration Authority (CAA) backed a new Gouger Street revitalisation plan that included a pedestrian zebra crossing connecting the court precinct and warned against removing it from plans.
“Judicial Officers and CAA employees are required to move between these buildings to perform their daily duties, and the provision of no formal pedestrian crossing is a risk for all court users and pedestrians – not just judicial officers and CAA staff,” Kourakis wrote.
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While Kourakis’ long-awaited crossing has been a feature of the $15 million Gouger Street upgrade plans, it could still face ongoing problems with a few vocal opponents to the walkway.
“What we’ve heard from the Chief Justice is there’s been a few accidents – accidents happen everywhere, just because there’s been a few, it doesn’t mean we need a new pedestrian crossing in that space,” Councillor Alfredo Cabada told Tuesday night’s committee meeting.
“I think this pedestrian crossing is going to bank up Gouger Street, especially if people are crossing all the time so I think we need to have a look at an alternative solution, because I would hate to be one of those cars that is there waiting and most people do drive into the city, especially to the 750 car parks on Mill Street, that is something we should consider.
“At the moment, there doesn’t seem to be enough data for me to support a pedestrian crossing going there.”
City Infrastructure Director Tom McCready said the current spot – where there is a verge in the road to stop at, but not an official crossing – sees a peak of about 375 people using it in two hours each morning and about 405 people in the afternoons.
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McCready said the spot “actually meets all the appropriate guidelines, if not more, based on the volume of people who are utilising it”, to justify a zebra crossing.
While a court’s spokesperson said Kourakis was unavailable to comment, his letter said there had been multiple incidents of near-miss accidents at the spot in the past and the South Australian Bar Association was also concerned about the areas safety.
“I would like to register my support to council for the provision of a pedestrian crossing as per the Gouger Street Revitalisation project and my concern for all users (not just for CAA or Judicial officers) should City of Adelaide decide to remove this significant improvement for the project,” the letter read.
Councillor Phillip Martin told the meeting to give weight to Kourakis’ letter, given his status in SA.
“I would say that it is unusual for a Chief Justice to write to any public body, particularly the City of Adelaide, to express an opinion about safety issues, and I place a great score on that, and I urge members to consider that carefully,” Martin said.
Kourakis was admitted as a Supreme Court barrister and solicitor in 1982 and previously served as the Solicitor-General from 2003 to 2008. He became South Australia’s ninth Chief Justice in 2012.
The original plans for Gouger Street also removed right-hand turn access from Mill Street, but this would no longer be the case after the council heard from stakeholders like the Kambitsis and Kyren groups in the area, who were concerned about traffic flow and parking access.
The council is still finalising the final design, expected in early 2026, before works begin. The stretch in front of the Central Market was expected to be completed by October 2026 to align with the opening of the Market Square development.
A council spokesperson told InDaily the project will continue into the following financial year but it was “premature to provide any firmer dates at this stage”.
